Black Wings: A re-telling of the events of RWBY
by Enchanted Mask
Summary: A new type of Faunus has emerged, a mysterious girl named Belle, and Qrow finds his Destiny along with the fate of Remnant tied around this one heroine. After exposure of the Heroine during the Fall of Beacon, what catastrophic events will unfold? Can Qrow, the students of Beacon, and the combined forces of the Kingdoms save Remnant? Includes entire RWBY Cast New Characters.
1. Chapter 1: The Poisonous Arrow of Cupid

Hello world! I am Enchanted Mask, and I hope you're enjoying this FanFiction as much as I am!

I'm sorry, it'll be difficult for me to upload frequently, with exams it's pretty difficult to keep on writing when there's so much to do!

Trust me, it's pretty difficult being a writer and a singer at the same time XD People keep telling me to pick just one hobby, but screw that! You can do anything you want if you really put your mind to it, so I really want to try my hardest to produce quality content instead of quantity, which means it could honestly be between weeks or months in-between chapters, which I know isn't what many people want to hear. I hope you all read, follow, and review my work and tell me what you like and/or what you think could improve it (although I can't say I will follow every single recommendation, otherwise it wouldn't be _my_ stories!)

Love you all,

 _Enchanted Mask_

XOXO

 **(Let's start this story!)**

Qrow Branwen was more than your average drunkard. True, he kept his flask of Mistral Spirit close by; ensuring he took a swig before _and_ after every daily activity he had, but Qrow wasn't your average man. He was a Huntsman. Defender of Remnant, higher than the Police-forces, and Qrow was also a very infamous huntsman, a former member of the renowned Team STRQ. But Qrow was also notorious for another thing; his strong tolerance to alcohol. He was quite literally, ALWAYS drunk. He fought whilst drunk, ate while drunk, slept whilst drunk, and woke up, _still_ drunk. And Qrow's drinking habit, led him to _The Poison Arrow_ , which is where, kind reader, we begin our story.

Qrow looked up from under his hood, the Tavern's cracked sign read, "The Poison Arrow- Inn & Bar". Perfect. It was 10:50pm and raining outside, which made Qrow slightly surprised at how many people were inside. The warmth of the large yet cosy room made his defined features glow after the change from the recent cold. He made his way over to the bar, a fat man in a greasy, stained-brown apron turned around to sneer at him. He had a bushy face reminiscent of a brown Ursa, and had beefy arms and a scar over his right eye. The innkeeper gave another disapproving sneer, before shaking his head and re-focusing on drying a glass. Qrow decided that this was the time to finally communicate.

"What's a guy gotta do to get some service around here?", he laughed with his mischievous grin.

"I'll get one of the waitresses to serve you", the innkeeper growled, not turning around to face the huntsman.

Qrow shrugged it off, he knew that the locals around here were pretty aloof. He chose a table on a balcony above the room; he liked to observe the others in the bar, and it let him watch the door if any unsavory people walked in. Qrow had a lot of enemies. That was another reason he chose to separate himself from his family, from his beloved niece. Qrow knew she was starting at Beacon soon along with her sister Yang; he could always find an excuse to visit Ozpin on a "business meeting".

The swinging of the staff doors from behind the bar pushed Qrow's head out of the clouds. Out from the back of the inn came a girl in a black, short-sleeved Qi-Pao top and a matching-short red, embroidered skirt. And although Qrow had never properly looked at another female since…. his beloved Summer Rose, this one took his breath away at first glance. She was absolutely gorgeous, long curled dark hair, big grey eyes and soft features. On her head was a thick black silk ribbon which worked as a headband that kept everything in place. As the girl came into the open room of the tavern, a few wolf-whistles emerged from the men about the room.

She glanced at the bar, took a deep breath, and nervously walked to the innkeeper. The bulging man shoved a tray in her slightly-shaking arms, and lade it down with glasses and liqueur bottles, and then whispered something in her ear (which made her turn profusely pink). She glanced about nervously, meeting Qrow's stare. She gulped, hesitantly. The innkeeper slapped her on the backside, sending her quickly forward to the set of stairs while dodging tables and spilt drinks. Several men tried to reach out and grab at her, but she nimbly went around to avoid the clearly-unwanted attention.

Qrow reactively smoothed his black hair back out of his eyes, before realizing he wasn't as young as he once was, and that this beauty certainly didn't play about with older males.

Unless…

He shook himself, hoping that this inn wasn't that sort of place he had unknowingly come to. Something caught his sharp eyes, as she drew nearer up the balcony. She had a massive bruise over her right eyebrow, similar to the fat innkeeper's scar, but she had cleverly covered it up with pale powder, only so that if you looked closely, you could spot what she was trying to hide. The waitress stood in front of him, at Qrow's table. Her eyes flickered over the enormous scythe that rested on the chair, and instead set down a strong glass of spirit and poured it out for him. Qrow wanted to say something, but for once his sharp tongue was out of clever conversation starters. He wanted to ask her about the innkeeper, about that bruise, and about why she was here. She met eye-contact with him, while she effortlessly poured his drink without looking.

And although she was clearly well-rehearsed in her profession, there was no denying the slight tremble her hand made as his drink was poured.

The waitress then quickly turned around and went back the way she came, leaving Qrow irritated at himself for not speaking up. A crash was heard from downstairs; his spoken waitress had dropped her tray and a glass had shattered on the floor. She immediately went on hands and knees trying to pick up the pieces, without concern for harming herself, and began crying, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" in a pitiful, desperate plea. She had a soft voice, which wavered a little as if she was about to burst into tears; and yet none fell. He made a note of what she sounded like; soft, yet with the aura of someone with confidence (although it was clear that what confidence she had, had been clearly now struck from her)

"Don't worry love, I wasn't plannin' to finish tha' one up anyway" A man who had previously playing cards smiled down at her. She put the shards back on her tray and gave a frightened glance to the innkeeper, who's greasy upper-lip tightened, but said nothing.

Qrow gave a curious stare. He knew something was going on here. Sinister signs or not, the huntsman remained at his table for an hour, before two other girls dressed in similar outfits began ushering the remaining men outside, to lock up the tavern for the night. Qrow decided to stay, he rarely left any bar without finishing his beverage, even when the workers were kicking him out. The three young women forgot about him up there, so when all the rest had left, the innkeeper turned.

" _You_ , come here" He commanded. Qrow's red eyes watched a girl, the one who dropped the glass, walk shakily to the beefy man. She feebly looked up at him, but not daring to meet his eyes. He pointed to the backdoor, leading to what Qrow assumed was a kitchen, and he marched the scared waitress, inside. The two other girls exchanged fearful looks, as they blew out some of the lanterns that lit the inn and headed to steps leading downstairs into the basement.

Qrow lingered for a moment, not knowing whether to stay and listen or to leave for the night. And then he heard an almighty crash. It rang out through the empty hall, eerily quiet except from the fight that came from the back. A mix of shattered glass and splintered wood met Qrow's ears, and the sound of fist meeting with that poor girl's face. He seized his weapon, flung on his cloak and drained his glass in a matter of seconds. He flew down the stairs, and unsheathed his blade to prepare to defend her from whatever the innkeeper was bringing down. Suddenly, the noises stopped. Qrow listened to the door, silencing his breathing to strain his ears further, and jumped back in surprise when it opened.

She came out, and met his surprised look with her own eyes after the shock of finding him here after closing time. Qrow re-slung his scythe onto his own back, and noticed. Her beautiful black shirt had one of the sleeves ripped violently open, exposing the corset underneath, and a small trickle of blood ran out from her nose and down onto her crumbled clothes, staining the dark satin. Qrow's eyes wavered at the strap of her corset, but he managed to drag them away to look at the girl in front of him. She opened her mouth to say something, before shaking her head as if consulting Qrow's aid was futile and instead her small, delicate figure brushed past him and to snuff the remaining lanterns without tending to her bloody nose.

Qrow peered into the kitchen, finding it dark and empty. He glanced back at the beautiful girl blowing out the rest of the candles to leave the room in darkness, as he assumed, and left through the door to head to his rooms in the town. And as he walked back, with his hood pulled up to keep him from the summer storm, he promised to himself; He, Qrow Branwen, would return to _The Poison Arrow_ the following night and fix whatever was going on in that strange place.


	2. Chapter 2: Smoke and Mirrors

The scent of the vodka lingered in the air around the tavern. Qrow was glad to be back, and this time; he was going to be asking some questions. Taking his usual spot on the empty balcony, Qrow waited for his favourite waitress to deliver. The dark-haired girl came up the stairs in the same outfit she had been wearing the last time he had visited.

She placed his usual concoction on the table, and he spoke, meeting her straight in the eye.

"So, what happened to you?" he asked very matter-of-factly. The girl was in the midst of pouring his drink when he asked, and replied to his question with a blank stare.

"Don't worry, the noise in here is loud enough for your _boss_ not to overhear us", he examined her expression, "So let me ask again, what happened to your eye?". She paused, before replying with one of the most pathetic excuses that Qrow could have ever imagined.

"I walked into a bar", she had a surprisingly clear voice, and she spoke in a very tough manner for someone her size. And he couldn't help but poke a bit of fun at it.

"Well, you're still in one now, sweetheart" he laughed, very cocky. Her face cracked into a small smile.

"So, what brings a gorgeous man-magnet like you to a shady place like this?". She turned solemn and said, "Don't call me sweetheart, I've had just about enough of that shit".

"What should I call you then?" His red eyes gleamed mischievously at her. Her face softened a little, and she answered in a truthful tone.

"I'm Belle. Belle Thornton". Her name was as beautiful as she was, and it made him even more attracted to her. He remembered "Thornton" from somewhere, but the name evaded him at that moment.

"I'm Qrow Branwen", after a pause, "And I'm here to help". She looked unconvinced, and studied his scythe.

"You're a Huntsman".

"Yes, I sure am".

"Why are you here then?" He looked up at her, slightly suspicious. She sat down opposite on the stool that was next to him and set down her tray.

"What do you mean?", he eyed her curiously.

"If you're a _Huntsman_ , you work with the police. And _if_ you're a Huntsman, you must be clever- "

"I try to be", he smirked. "When I'm not in a bar like this, I mean". She ignored him and carried on.

"Then you'd know what kind of a place this is. So why are you here? Are you going to arrest us?". He paused and considered.

"Who is 'us'?", he questioned.

"Me, and my sisters who work here"

"There are more of you?"

She stopped, and covered her hand with her mouth quickly, irritated that he had managed to trick her into leaking information. Not that she _wanted_ to keep anything a secret; it was only if she said even the smallest detail, then… _he_ would become a little more than 'displeased'. Belle shook her head in defiance.

 _"_ _Why am I telling him anything!? I've always managed to keep my mouth shut before, so why is this cocky huntsman any different!?"_

She noticed he was still staring at her, waiting for a reply, with his big, gorgeous red eyes that practically glowed out of their sockets at her. Her heart seemed to melt a little as she became distracted, _absorbed_ , with his beautiful features. "I…I can't tell you anything else"

"Then let me ask you one other thing; if this place were to be…. noticed by me and my fellow huntsman, what would happen to you if this were shut down?". Belle considered his question for a minute.

"We would be out of a home, with no jobs, no food, and no money. You would've left us with nothing except…. the one job that we would be left with…" her voice broke, a single tear rolled down her face. Qrow reached over and clasped her hand in his calloused palms; then cleared his throat and said, "Don't worry, I won't let things come to that. But if you don't mind me asking, is that not already your job?". She shook her head quickly, composed herself and replied with,

"No, we're _supposed_ to be escorts…. we have somehow managed to survive without sinking that low…. yet".

"Then, how did you end up here? You can't be much older than 20"

"I'm 28, actually. But no, I wasn't born here. My entire family have been huntsman and huntresses, or at least my real parents told me..." Belle's grey eyes were downcast and empty, as she recalled some of her past life.

Qrow could barely make out her low voice, "This used to be a Café. It was beautiful and the lady who ran it had adopted me and my foster sisters, but then she hired… _him_ for some unimaginable reason and then everything went wrong".

Belle whispered quietly in the tiniest voice Qrow had ever heard, like all her confidence had been broken from her soul. "I… I think you've probably guessed what he does to us every night after the Tavern closes".

His ears buzzed at every word, and his fist clenched at the thought of that…. _pig_ doing something so horrific to some poor, defenceless girls. Belle winced suddenly, as Qrow realized he had still been caressing her hand for comfort before he started squeezing it tightly in anger.

"Sorry, I forgot that… never mind" His mind spun with the new information.

 _"_ _These poor girls… he's been abusing them for god-knows how long. I need to help them, but I have to be sure first"_

"But didn't she… try to stop him?", he asked carefully.

"She…she died. It was the week after their 'wedding'. I was only 12, and I'm the oldest. Everything was stripped down and sold, then turned into this shithole. I had to look after everyone else, and every week he got worse and worse to us, until..." she began to cry again, until she mentally kicked herself. "I'm sorry. You're just a poor man trying to enjoy your drink and I'm spouting off on a pointless story, and I don't even know you!". Belle's expression turned to fright. "You won't…. tell anyone will you!?"

"Not if you don't want me to, but I promise, I _can_ help you"

"I know you can. I see the same men come and go all the time, and they have no problem 'helping' us" she spoke bitterly, staring at the floor and not looking at Qrow.

"I'm not like that, and I promise," he came off his stool and knelt down in front of her so he could meet her eyes, "I promise I will protect you from any harm. It's kinda my job"

"What if you go back on your word?"

Qrow laughed, "Then you can complain to the Huntsman recruitment office about not being satisfied with my services!". She began to smile, and laugh along with him. "But seriously, there isn't actually a huntsman HQ office". A few previous stray tears rolled down her cheeks, but with the emotion they were present for gone. Belle immediately felt better, as if things were finally beginning to change for her, and the people she loved, until a cold voice sneered up at them.

"Am I interrupting something?". Belle immediately became frozen with fear.

"Nothing at all! I was just leaving!" Qrow called down, as he put back on his cloak and weapon, and made his way down the staircase. Belle sprang to her feet and started to noisily gather up bottles from his table. The inn was empty, and Qrow practically pranced past the innkeeper's glare. He gently brushed past Belle, almost reassuringly, cheerily waved goodbye at the pair of them and made himself scarce after a "goodbye". Or so the man thought.

He turned on Belle as soon as he saw the immature rebel leave the hall.

"What were you doing messing about with that rogue?" he demanded.

Her eyes widened. "N-nothing. We were just talking," she thought for something before saying "That's my job, isn't it?"

"YES, it IS your job. But your job is supposed to bring _me_ money!". A crow flew in from the nearest window and perched itself on a table. Both looked at it curiously. "The money that this bar makes, the money that YOU make, is what keeps all of us from being thrown into the streets!" The huge man began to yell obscenities at the girl, but the crow let out a loud squawk. The innkeeper tried shout, but yet again, the crow interrupted him. Every time he tried to yell at Belle, that…. damn crow would keep squawking its little head off at the huge man, as if it was almost _trying_ to annoy him. It even made Belle want to laugh, if not for the situation she was in.

"Drom, please. It's just a bird-"

Her employer was a man of little patience and he ran towards the crow with terrifying speed, which caught the bird off-guard, seized its little black body, and threw it at the wall in effort to kill the little creature. Belle cried out to stop him, but her efforts were useless against the hulking giant who knocked her out the way with one swing of his beefy arm. The crow flapped its wings and flew out the window to escape its attacker; who turned and grabbed Belle by the neck. He lifted her off the ground and shook her fiercely. She was thrown about so suddenly and violently, Belle feared that he might break her neck at this force; until he threw her down like a toy. She curled up into a ball on the floor, quivering. Drom bent down to her height, grabbed her by the hair to make sure she could hear him, and hissed,

"You belong to ME Belle. You are mine, and mine _alone_. Never forget that!". He stomped out to the back, sending furniture and anything near him crashing to the ground, as another waitress, a shy deer-faunus who was (rather oddly) named Kitty, ran forward and helped her sister get up from the dirty tavern's floor.


	3. Chapter 3: Sisterhood

Belle could barely breathe, all the air in her lungs had been knocked out of her as one of her sisters tried to help her up. She could hear the roar of blood pounding through her head as she felt one of her younger sisters help her up. Belle leant on Kitty, as the two girls shakily made it down to the dusty basement rooms; which was where they lived.

Kitty pushed open the door to Belle's bedroom, which was where the girl had spent most of her life. The dingy room had only a small bed, a dusty bookcase on the wall, a sofa in the middle of the room that had the stuffing poking out through numerous rips and holes in the fabric, and a vanity table that had its white paint cracking and peeling off. Kitty gently helped Belle onto the bed as Belle took off her own headband, exposing a miniature set of pointed, furry-black bat ears poking through her dark hair.

She sat on her bed, trying to recover from the recent attack. Faint purple marks were beginning to appear around her neck from when Drom had thrown her on the ground.

"What was the reason tonight?", Kitty asked weakly. The pair knew that the abuse was frequent. Belle could stand it, but she knew her sisters shouldn't have to deal with such horrible treatment, and so she made sure to protect them from Drom's rage whenever she could, to save them from _anything_.

Of course, the ones who should have been protecting the girls was the Vale police force, although there were little to no law enforcement in the area. This was because the Tavern was located in a small village on the coast of the Kingdom of Vale, called "Kurakora", but the area was owned by both the Vale and Mistral, leaving the police force to be almost non-existent. Crime ran free in the town, which was why there were so many "inns" in the village, as they all hid secret brothels.

Luckily, Belle had managed to keep herself and her family afloat, so she didn't have to resort to such a job, or not yet at least.

"I just was just talking to a customer too long, and Drom got pissed because he wanted to close up the inn". Belle said it as if it had been no big deal, but both her and Kitty knew better. A small cough came from the slightly-open door, and a small girl of about 13, with white poodle ears, was hiding in the archway shyly. Belle smiled at her youngest sister, and beckoned for her to come in.

"Eavesdropping isn't a good habit, Mariah", even though she was reprimanding her sister, Belle still smiled and stroked the young girl's soft blonde hair. Mariah was clad in a white cotton nightgown, and reached up to gently touch the new bruises around Belle's neck.

"He hurt you again". It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Yes, he did. But I will never let him do anything to you, or Kitty, or any of us", Belle said reassuringly and beckoned for Kitty to sit with them. Mariah hugged Belle tightly, as if doing so would protect her from any future harm. Kitty sat down next to the pair and joined the hug. The door creaked open, and another girl entered the dingy bedroom. Evie, a 22-year-old girl whose faunus feature was a tiny pair of translucent butterfly wings, came into the room; as her normal smiling face turned sad and distant when her pale pink eyes spotted Belle's neck. Belle patted the space on the bed next to her, as the new sister joined the group. Evie patted the eldest sister's shoulder as she hugged the rest of the girls. "What happened this time?" the butterfly faunus asked in her usual soft, understanding tone.

"It doesn't matter what happened, it was better to have it been me instead of any of you", Belle assured the group, who all instead looked on and doubted the eldest's words. Belle hugged her family close, and tried to explain.

"The worlds not fair, dearests. We have to struggle harder for who we are", she indicated to each girl's Faunus feature, which were ears, tails and spots, "but it shouldn't be this way, and it's very important we stick together, help each other and everyone else in need, whether they are like us or not".

"Easy for you to say", came a snide voice from the hall. The group of girls looked up to see the last remaining member of the household, a sharp-tongued fox-faunus called Sai, and she was the second eldest out of the 5 girls. "You're the most gorgeous out of all of us, don't act like you've got it hard".

"Be quiet, Sai. It's not easy for any of us, so stop being sour", came Kitty's irritated reply. The fox faunus retreated back out the room and walked off muttering to herself.

"Come, let's all get to bed", Belle said tiredly; too weak to want to continue the conversation. Evie took hold of Kitty's shoulders and steered her off towards their own bedrooms, leaving Belle and little Mariah alone. Belle got up and pulled her hair out its usual bun, letting her long dark curls free as the rolled down her back, and began to wipe off her eye makeup, exposing her badly bruised face. All she wanted was to collapse and drift off into sleep, although she knew that she still had a few more things to do.

"Belle?" a quiet voice came from the bed.

"Yes, darling?", she replied cheerily, showing much more positivity than she had ever felt during her time at the inn. Mariah was holding Belle's hairbrush. "Do you want me to comb it for you?", she asked the young girl who nodded and gave a small smile. Belle climbed over to her bed and sat down, and began to brush the girl's soft hair thoroughly.

"Have you washed yet?" she asked.

"No, the bathroom door was locked. I didn't know if someone was in there so I knocked, and Sai told me to go away". The young girl paused, "she said a bad word".

"Don't take any notice of Sai, darling. She's just tired, same as everyone else".

"Are you tired?", Mariah's white fluffy ears dropped a little. Belle stopped brushing her hair.

"Yes, I _am_ tired". A long silence followed as the two girls sat in the candle-lit room. Belle shook her thoughts away. "But that's nothing for you to worry about, dearest. Don't worry about me, I'm going to make sure I'll stay awake to look after you". She smiled and hugged the little girl. "There, all done now. I'm going to run you a bath in the morning. Do you have school tomorrow?". Mariah nodded. Belle tried to change the subject.

"The market is tomorrow too, isn't it? Do you want me to get something for you?", Belle asked kindly as she got up from her bed and checked the amount of coins she had in her apron. She only had 27¥ lien, _that_ wouldn't even pay for a small crust of bread, which was _60¥_ lien. If she couldn't get at least 120¥ by the next evening then there would be _nothing_ for lunch the next day.

 _"_ _That can wait until tomorrow,_ she told herself. Belle made up the sofa into a tiny bed for Mariah, padding it down with soft blankets, and wished it could be more for the young girl. Yet sure enough, she made no complaints about her lumpy bedding. Belle began to undress herself, took off her apron, her embroidered top and skirt, leaving just her black tights, her bra and her underwear.

A very short, furry black tail stuck out from her lower back that usually was hidden under her skirt. This was the main reason that Belle becomes such an important part of the history of remnant, as she was the first Faunus ever known to have _two_ different animal traits. The leading scientists in Atlas who were the most advanced in the entire world knew very little about the Faunus species themselves, such as why they had an animal counterpart and where they originated from. In Remnant's mythology, there had once been described among other heroes, such as the Legendary silver-eyed Warriors, Faunus with two traits were deemed some of the most powerful and intelligent fighters known to mankind, and its legend was kept a secret from the world, with every Kingdom searching for any mythical heroes surfacing and demonstrating power. This was of course because, the legends of Remnant were very real, and every great superpower was searching the far corners of the world so they could be the first to harness the power of these heroes.

Belle however, was unware of her supernatural powers. Her parents, which had both been dedicated fighters themselves, knew of her unusual traits but believed them to simply be rare. Belle had never heard any stories or legends (being kept in her quiet village hid her from the world, and from the evil powers of Salem, so she had remained safe to this day), but what she did know was the prejudice and discrimination that the Faunus had to endure, so instead she concealed her tail (which was quite unnoticeable anyway and very short) by wearing skirts that hid it easily, and by wearing a thick black headband or a black hooded cloak while in public to stop other's seeing her small ears.

No-one knew about her double-faunus traits except her sisters, as Drom had always been either too drunk or too full of inexplicable rage to realize that she had both bat ears and a short furry cat tail, which was currently poking through her underwear as she changed into sleepwear in her bedroom.

Belle pulled on a dull white t-shirt that had been faded to a light grey from so many years of use and washing. It was tiny but she still fit in it.

She picked up her dirty clothes and put them in the laundry basket in the hall, before blowing out the candles and leaving the place in darkness. Belle peered around the hall, the other girls had already gone to sleep, and the basement was nearly pitch black, and felt cold and creepy. She closed her door, pulling on the handle to make sure it was shut. Mariah's pale blue eyes stared at her from the sofa, wide awake and trembling slightly, and Belle knew what is was, so she turned around and locked the door, and placed the chair from her antique vanity table up against the handle, to make sure it would take a very hefty shove to get it open, in which the noise would wake her up to stop the intruder.

Belle knew what Drom did after hours, he would sit on his own in the bar area upstairs and drink until 3am or the early hours of the morning, and then retire to his bedroom whenever he regained consciousness, where he would remain hungover for the next 6 hours. Or sometimes, when his temper rose to the surface, he would grab the nearest girl and pull her into his room where they would remain for at least half an hour until the poor, scared thing would be pushed away by him and would run half-naked to her own room or to her sisters to be comforted. Belle hated him with every fibre of her being, but knew that now, after years of trying to defy it, she gave up.

The last time Drom had been in one of his "moods", he had grabbed Kitty from behind and practically pulled her arm out while he took her to his bed. Belle had stepped in and shouted at him, telling him to leave her sister alone, and stood up to him after everything he had done to them. She had felt every proud of herself then, until he broke her nose and left her shivering in a pool of her own blood, to then go to the nearest brothel and calm his mood there. Belle thought of that moment now, she knew she did the right thing and now didn't care what he did to her, as long as she kept her sisters out of harm's way.

Belle tiptoed over to the sofa and kissed Mariah's forehead before crawling into her own rickety bed and blew out the candle on the dresser next to it. She stared into the darkness, as she could hear the quiet sounds of Mariah's gentle sleepy sighs. Wishing that she could be at peace like that, Belle turned over onto her side, facing the wall. In the darkness, her faunus eyes could make out scrawls on the wall that had been made with pencil when she was much younger. She used to like to draw then, in a time when she didn't have to look after others and she could daydream her days away with fantasies of adventure, excitement and romance.

 **(Scene-Change)**

Belle awoke with sunlight streaming into her room through the tattered cloth curtains that covered the ground-level window; no matter how hard she tried to patch up the holes, more would appear from the large moths that sometimes flew in during hot weather. It was summer, yet her bedroom still managed to stay at an odd climate; on rainy or cloudy days, with no sun to warm up the tavern (which relied on the sun to provide its heat from a special panel on the rooftop) her room would be frightfully chilly and drafty, and yet in the boiling summer the room would be like a sauna.

Something move on her stomach made Belle realise that Mariah's cold little body was shivering in bed next to her, the young girl likely had experienced some bad dream during the night and climbed in with Belle for comfort. She wrapped her own arms around the cold little girl and held her closely, trying to warm her up. Mariah shivered and opened her pale blue eyes, and blinked up at Belle, who smiled warmly down at her. Belle peered over at the clock on her dresser, the time read 06:47am, and Mariah started school at 8:30am.

"Come darling, we need to get up now if you're going to be on time for school". Mariah sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Belle wrapped herself in her black silk kimono and put on a little pair of soft flat ballet-pumps that were her night shoes. She unlocked the door and peered around into the hallway, the gas lamps were lit so someone was up. Belle turned back to Mariah and mouthed " _Wait here_ " as she slipped out the room and went up the stairs. The smell of coffee met her nose, and in the kitchen, she found Evie in her own dressing gown and boiling rice on their stove. Belle eyed the boiled coffee pot on the counter and breathed in the smell of roasted coffee with rapture.

Heading back downstairs into the basement, Belle crept silently to the end of the hall, to one bedroom that she hated entering. She listened at the door, and could hear the drunken, raspy breathing that came from inside. Belle cracked open the door open a fraction, and with one grey eye, peered into the room; it was dark, but she could make out Drom's hulking figure that lay on the bed in a drunken dream. He grunted in his sleep and murmured some things that I cannot say in this, but what can be revealed was:

"Ggnh…Belle…. You belong t-to…me"

The phrase caused the faunus to shut the door quickly in fright and retreat back down the corridor. Going back into her bedroom, she called Mariah to get up, and led the child into their bathroom. With a bucket of water that had been drawn from the town's well and warmed in a small oil burner, Belle ran the bath, which was a hand-made wooden tub, and let Mariah use it. Belle joined her and helped Mariah wash herself, and let the younger girl get out quickly to dry and get dressed in time for school.

"What is that?", Mariah asked, pointing to Belle's bare back. Just managing to look, she could tell it was a large scar across her back that had happened many years ago. She felt humiliated to have let Mariah see it.

"It's just a nasty scratch from a long time ago" she tried to answer truthfully. Trying to change the subject, "Tell you what darling, just let me finish here and why don't you go see Evie and ask her for an extra-big amount of breakfast? I'll make some tea for you when I get there". Mariah disappeared off upstairs, leaving Belle alone. She had some time by herself, it was the quietest part of the day for her, before going to the market and trying to bid for over-priced produce, or long hours of cleaning and maintaining the tavern.

Belle felt a slight sudden twinge of pain in her stomach, she felt cramps begin to seize up her insides like fire. Trying to relieve the pain, she rubbed herself which made it subside but only slightly.

 _"_ _I've been having the same pain for about a week now every morning. God, what if I'm coming down with something?"_

The stomach cramps kept her in the tub for a good 5 minutes, until the pain numbed a little. It was a sick, squeezing pain that made her feel like someone was stretching her stomach like an elastic band. Trying to ignore it for now, Belle stepped out of the now-cold water and changed into her usual satin bodice-dress, with black knee-length boots. Belle tied her corset-strings to the door-handle, then moved away from the door to have them lace up her bodice firmly. She brushed her hair and pinned it up into a bun, and tied her silk ribbon around her ears to hide them securely. Belle then picked up her powder-puff covered up the bruises on her face with more pale make-up. She dipped a small paintbrush into black paste and dragged it around her eyes to make cat-style eyeliner.

When she was satisfied with the results, she got up from her vanity table and opened her curtains. The morning June sunlight streamed through the glass, as Belle opened the tiny window to let in some air to the room. There was a sweet summer breeze that swayed through the trees around Kurakora. The summer brought back some childhood memories of swimming and playing on the beaches near the town. Those happy days were all before Drom arrived….

Belle shook her mind free of him, pushing his very existence to the back of her mind as she focused on something new. A bird landed on the ground just outside her window which was ground-level. It was something that would never have been seen out-of-the ordinary, except Belle saw something… uncanny about the bird. It was a crow, with big black, glossy feathers and beady red eyes that stared at her transfixed, as if it was trying to catch her eye.

She outstretched her hand to the bird, wondering if it wanted to be fed (even though the sisters were very poor, they always left crumbs or some food out for the wildlife around the village, such as old fish for the local cats or breadcrumbs for any birds), and was surprised when it flew up to her and landed on her arm gently as if Belle had been its handler for years. Shocked, but slightly cheerful from it's calm nature, she took the bird inside and let it land on her dresser. The crow rubbed his black beak against his leg, where she noticed there was a tiny vial attached to the bird's foot.

Belle picked it up off the bird's leg, and stared at the vial intently. A rolled-up piece of paper fell out, with a seal she had seen somewhere recently. The scroll was written in black ink, and hastily made. The note read:

 _"_ _Meet me in the marketplace at 10:00am tomorrow, we'll discuss your private affairs. Look for the bird,_

 _Qrow_

 _X"_

She stared at it in disbelief. " _He put a kiss at the end of it_ ". Unbeknownst to her, it made a soft blush come to her cheeks as she put it down and softly stroked the bird's back.

"Is this from your master?", she asked it, wondering if it would reply. The crow tilted its head as if to say "yes" to her. The bird then flapped its wings twice and flew back out of the window the way it came, and Belle watched it as it flew out of sight. Making sure that no-one would find the note, Belle hid it in her underwear draw, thinking it would be the last place anyone would look. She then made her way upstairs where the smell of breakfast was being emitted from.

All the girls were seated on patchwork cushions at the low wooden table, Belle picked up the coffee strainer and poured herself a cup. It was very dark and bitter but they couldn't afford milk or sugar, which such delicacies being expensive in the village of Kurakora. Mariah was dressed in her soft white cotton dress and petticoat (as the local school was very poorly funded and had no uniform), and Belle patted her head as she finished her own coffee.

The sisters soon departed from each other's company, Kitty would stay to clean the tavern, Evie would head into the forest surrounding the village to forage for anything that could be found useful, and Sai would travel the hourly walk to the farms in the area and see if they could bargain for food in return for sewing or cleaning. Mariah would be at school during the day, so Belle would take on any other jobs that needed doing, such as going to the weekly Friday market and doing the household's chores which included cooking, laundry, and washing dishes.

Belle grabbed her dark cloak and wrapped it around herself. Although it was summer, she still pulled the hood up as the climate between Vale and Mistral was mostly chilly and mountainous. Mariah waited by the door, holding a patchwork satchel that Belle had made with a few scraps of cloth she had found on the floor in the Tailor's shop, and managed to sneak them into her pocket before anyone had noticed. The young girl was deep in thought with a tense expression on her face. Belle flicked her on the nose playfully, making the young girl giggle a little.

Taking Mariah by the hand, Belle grabbed a wicker basket and filled her pockets with the little money the girls had, and stepped out into the open world outside. She hated leaving the tavern, while home-life was more than terrible, at least it was her own place with her sisters, a sanctuary that they could be shielded by the world, and no one's hatred for Faunus could harm them through the walls of the dingy inn.

Nothing could harm them; except for Drom.

The walk to the town square was only a few minutes, and was the central of the small village. The local church, school-house, market and water-well was in the square. As they neared the school-house, Mariah became increasingly tense with each step. It was a pretty building compared to the rest of the village, a zen-style hall with a playground out the front where about 30 children were playing hopscotch and talking to each other. Mariah stood still as she watched all of them. Belle was right behind her and knelt down beside.

"Do you want me to go in with you?", she asked kindly. Belle was known throughout the village as a mysterious figure, as she never went outside without a long black cloak, leading to many rumours about her. Belle had already been spotted by some of the children in the playground, and many were staring, pointing and whispering to each other. Mariah turned pink and tried to hide her face from their view. Belle's bat ears could still hear what they said from underneath her headband and hood,

"Isn't that the weird lady who stays in that house on the edge of the village?"

"I heard that she's a witch and makes magic spells and turns people into animals!"

"Wow, is that what happened to the girl with her then? She's got floppy dog-ears"

"My papa told me all about the animal-people. He says they're called Faunus and apparently they eat kids that are bad!"

"That sounds scary!"

"Apparently she wears a hood because she looks really ugly and if you look her in the eyes you'll turn into stone!"

"Eek! Don't look at her!"

All the children in the playground ran to the back of the schoolhouse where they began to stare terrified at Belle in her dark cloak. Mariah covered her poodle-ears in shame. Belle took her hands away from her ears, and bent down to the little girl's level.

"Never be ashamed of who you are, darling. Don't let them change you, okay? Be yourself, and they'll have no reason to keep away", she said softly from under her hood. Mariah nodded, blinked back tears, and held onto her shoulder bag tightly. With a little pat on her back, Mariah walked through the school gates and sat down on a bench at the edge of the playground. Belle looked on sadly. She knew that it was more than difficult to be one of the only Faunus in town.

She clutched onto her basket and turned away to walk to the market that had already been set up. There were already stalls selling everything that had been gathered at the start of the summer, were the beginning of the harvest was taking place. There was a greengrocer full of freshly picked fruits and vegetables, a fishmonger crammed with squid, octopus, crab and baskets of shiny silver fish, a tailor displaying many different satins, cloths and silks in every colour, and many more stands which had half the entire village crowded around. Belle spied the town fountain and stuck her hand in to secretly scoop up a fistful of change. It was all done so quickly that if someone had watched the act, they would've mistaken the grab for a splash of water or just a glimmer of sunlight. Belle's Faunus reflexes allowed her to move much faster than the average person, which allowed her to swipe small objects and get away with it easily.

The market was the one place that every member of the town came to visit and come together every stage of life, from farmers, to fisherman, to the shady mayor's handymen who bought their boss his meals. Even Belle, being an outsider from the village life, still found her way into the crowds and managed to get to the front of the queues at the grocer's.

She was met with the face of a smiling man, "What can I do for you today?", he asked politely.

"6 eggs and a jug of milk please", she said quietly from under her hood. She rarely spoke to people outside of the tavern, but many knew the rumours of the mysterious girl who always kept her hood up.

"That will be 80¥ please, Miss". Belle took out her cloth money-bag and counted her coins, which had grown from her change that came from the fountain. She had 95¥, and still needed to get some rice and ramen for tonight's supper. "I guess I'll have to resort back to my old efforts" her mind told her as she swallowed a lump in her throat. The guilt still was with her to this day, the guilt of her stealing things. At first it had started with a few essentials, such as change from people's pockets and a small loaf of bread from the bakers, but soon the girls needed more things than their weak allowance could afford, such as new clothes and shoes, soap, toothpaste, etc. Belle _knew_ it was wrong to steal, and she ensured it didn't become a habit; unless she and her family became desperate for the occasional soap bar or piece of food.

Belle always hated taking things from people, she knew it was wrong, and she had been detained once before by an angry shopkeeper, but managed to escape the situation by offering him her "services" in return for him not contacting the police. She gulped, and thought of the decisions that had led her here. She always told herself that one day she would pay the people back for everything she had taken, because one day she would manage to get out of town and take her sisters with her, and they could get proper jobs, somewhere, _anywhere_ , else. But as the years had gone by, Belle was believing less and less that she would ever get out of Kurakora, and ever get away from Drom.

The grocer gave her the eggs and milk, as she handed over the money and made her way through the streets. Walking past each stand, Belle rehearsed her art. She would stop at every other stand, and she would blend herself in with the crowd, keeping her face hidden, and would pick up something, pretending to inspect it, and then slip it into her basket or pocket and then walk away if nothing ever happened. With her very quick and nimble hands, and with all the shopkeepers being so busy fetching and showcasing their merchandise to the crowd of villagers, they didn't notice the small, dark figure dart her way about their stalls.

Belle stopped under a tree for shade, the heat of the day beginning to set in. Rifling through her basket, she looked what she had picked up: a few packets of egg ramen, a scrap of embroidered linen that could be made into curtains or a rug, three small loaves of bread and a small bag of rice. Half-guilty and half-satisfied, Belle turned away from her spoils and stared instead at the large copper clock on top of the town hall. It read "10:30am". Belle's mind cast itself back to the note from Qrow. _"Look for the bird"_ he had said. What the hell was he trying to tell her?

A loud screech came from nearby. A stall that belonged to a travelling merchant from Vacuo, whom sold many different types of small exotic animals, which included snakes, mice, and… _birds_. Belle walked quickly over to the tent, the sign above that read "Avery's Emporium". A quick look about inside, it was hot and humid in the tent, and had the walls lined with shelves crammed with cages full of serpents and reptiles and birds, some that screeched, some that cooed, and some that sat in silence and stared with their gigantic golden eyes. But all Belle cared about was the fact that Qrow wasn't in there.

"Excuse me", she said to a thin, wizened old man who stood behind the counter. He looked a little startled at her appearance and tried to peer into the dark shadows of her hood to make eye contact, although still tried to smile awkwardly not to appear rude.

"Have you seen any huntsman come through here? He's about this tall", Belle indicated with her hands, "And he has dark spiky hair, red eyes and has this massive scythe". The elderly man put his hand on the goatee on his chin, and adjusted his spectacles, clearly deep in thought.

"Oh yes! That tall fellow who came early and looked about. He didn't buy anything, he left in that direction, Miss", the emporium owner stepped outside and pointed towards a grassy path that led to the only docks in the island. "That's the last I saw of him, I'm afraid".

"Thank you, sir", Belle said. She stared at the path. Knowing that if Qrow went to the docks, he had probably taken a boat far away.

 _"_ _He's left town already, and he said he would help us. I guess he was lying"_

Wanting to cry, she left the tent and began to walk back home in the direction of the tavern. _"Why am I so upset? He hasn't committed a crime. I just…thought he wasn't like everyone else in this pathetic excuse of a village"._

But Belle's thoughts came to a halt as a tall, dark figure appeared in front of her. She almost collided with their chest as she was so absorbed. Trying to mumble a "sorry" and move out the person's way, the person blocked her path. Becoming irritated, she let her grey eyes glare up at the stranger's glowing red ones, until she realized whose face she was staring at,

It was Qrow


End file.
